With Q3 earnings largely in the books (97% of S&P 500 firms have reported), today’s chart provides some long-term perspective on the current earnings environment by focusing on 12-month, as reported S&P 500 earnings. Today’s chart illustrates the dramatic nature of the earnings plunge during the financial crisis as well as the recovery that followed — a recovery that took earnings from levels not seen since the Great Depression to a new record high. More recently, however, S&P 500 inflation-adjusted earnings declined significantly. On a somewhat positive note, S&P 500 inflation-adjusted earnings have been moving slightly higher over the past several months.